Sadly, the Rivers Casino is now open and Pittsburgh will never be the same again, its science center eternally dwarfed by a 10-story parking garage. But even in these unfortunate times, we can find some hope.
I had the pleasure of hosting four members of Casino-Free Philadelphia who came to Pittsburgh to crash Neil Bluhm’s opening day party. Several of us locals joined them in holding up a large “Casinos = Corruption” sign in front of the casino during the opening ceremony. A couple of the Philly visitors infiltrated the crowd and punctuated Mr. Bluhm’s brief remarks with interjections like “Don’t come to Philly” until the State Police told them to shut up.
I walked through the casino after the opening ceremony and returned for an hour the following day, on my way to a television interview. Each time I gravitated to the casino’s self-serve complimentary drink area, figuring that with each beverage I cut another dime or so from Rivers profits.
The casino also managed to shoot itself in the foot a couple times on the PR front. The bicycling community threw a major grassroots fit because Rivers, after promising to open a bike trail through the riverfront side of its property, posted signs stating “Private Property, Walk Your Bikes.” Rivers also showed both its greed and its marketing foolishness by setting a $50 parking fee on Steelers game nights, a fee it quickly reconsidered after attracting poor attendance on the first Steelers night.
There is another reason for encouragement: the Rivers Casino’s early performance has been way below expectations. Here are the gross terminal revenue amounts (i.e., total amount lost by players) for the first three full weeks at Rivers, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Cheerleader Board (PGCB): $5,262,132, $4,655,042, $4,264,267. Extrapolate that third figure over the course of a year and you get total gambling losses of $222 million—certainly a lot of money, and certainly enough to make trouble for many other local businesses that will see less patronage, but barely half what the Rivers folks predicted. Who knows, perhaps we will be blessed with an early casino bankruptcy (though Detroit’s bankrupt casino continues to operate).
Through diligent media efforts, we have helped to communicate the message that casino gambling is an unwise and dangerous activity; that gambling addiction is life-destroying and unpredictable; and that “Winners Avoid Casinos.” We have gained modest media coverage for ourselves while also putting local media in touch with other compelling communicators like Philadelphia’s Jethro Heiko and Bill Kearney. Perhaps we have saved some people and their families from the awful ravages of casino gambling addiction.
I must admit to one lingering disappointment. We constructed what I believe is a colorful, powerful presentation on the casino industry as America’s “two-armed bandit,” describing its threats and encouraging people to keep themselves and their loved ones away from casinos. We have delivered this presentation about 15 times and it has been very well received, including a surprisingly friendly welcome in July from the Pennsylvania State Mayors Association. I had hoped that the word would spread and that churches and other community organizations would be beating down our doors for presentations. That has not happened. Nor have we exhausted our initial supply of “Winners Avoid Casinos” window clings and bumper stickers, though we have distributed hundreds.
Ours is a message ahead of its time. Legislators and governors across the country are still more interested in expanding gambling, so as to get their hands on more revenues, than on protecting the citizens they were elected to serve. But ours is a righteous message. Please continue to share it and let us know if we can help.
--Bruce Barron |